About Ella McKenzie

Personal story

G’day ,I’m Ella McKenzie, a home cook from Newcastle located in Australia and the person behind every recipe on this site.

I grew up eating the food that doesn’t get enough credit online — chocolate crackles at every birthday, Anzac biscuits at school fetes, mum’s roast lamb on Sundays, lamingtons at the church fair. Australian cooking is deeply tied to memory and occasion, and I’ve always felt it deserved its own proper home on the internet — not buried inside “British and Commonwealth recipes” or adapted for an American pantry.

That’s why AustRecipes exists.

My Cooking Approach

I’m not a restaurant chef , and that’s exactly the point. Everything here comes from real home cooking, in a real kitchen, with the same equipment and pantry you probably have.

Before a recipe goes up, I make it multiple times. I note what failed, what I adjusted, and why. If a slice didn’t set properly on the first try, I work out whether it was the Copha ratio, the fridge time, or the tin size, and I tell you. Because the last thing you want is to waste ingredients on a recipe that hasn’t been properly tested. I’ve made the chocolate crackle recipe eleven times.

Every recipe on AustRecipes is built for busy weeknights, simple pantry ingredients, and clear step-by-step instructions. If something feels too complicated or unrealistic for a home cook, I simplify it until it works.

Cooking at home shouldn’t feel stressful. It should feel natural — and familiar.